Teip
Encyclopedia
Teip is a Chechen
and Ingush
tribal
organization or clan
, self-identified through descent from a common ancestor
and geographic location. There are about 130-233 teips (though some sources state that there may be as many as 300). More than 20 teips originated from newcomers, in particular Avars
, Kumyks
, Jews
, Georgians
, Russians
, Turks
. The taips descending of non-Chechen ancestors are called impure teips (in other language: su’lijn taipa, соьли тайпа). A teip's internal dynamic an honor and blood feuds plays major role.
The teip membership and the tukkhum
membership defined the social position of a Chechen. The lack of any affiliation of a person can be described as “This man has neither a teip nor a tukkhum”. There are 223 teips total.
to which it belongs, a short description, relation to the Russian Chechen conflict
and notable members:
is not any more in question than a Chechen-origin teip.
In total there are at least 45 teips which officially declare their non-Chechen heritage. However, it is highly likely that there are many other teips with foreign origin who simply forgot their long-past ancestry. However, any such speculation on an individual teips origins contradicting their own official beliefs is highly controversial.
A notable modern example of the formation of an ethnic teip is the Germans
who lived among the Chechens during their exile in Kazakhstan and Siberia
: during even as short a period of 13 years, the Germans decided to join the teip system, and the new "German" taip was founded by M.Weisert, whose relatives still lived mainly in Germany
. There have also been several periods where Jews
living in Chechnya founded their own teip (teip Dzugtoi, which has contributed much in fact to the Chechen nation according to some), which is still in existence, though it has shrunk considerably due to the flight of people from Chechnya due to the brutal war. There are also teips that were formed, sometimes temporarily, by Russians
(teips Orsi, Arsoi), Poles
or Ukrainians
.
There are a handful of peoples which actually have more than one ethnic teip in the teip system. There are 2 Russian teips (because Russians joined at two different periods), 2 Circassian teips (one for Kabardins and one for Western Adyghe
), 6 Georgian teips, and 30 "Dagestani" teips, made up of the peoples of Dagestan (some of the teips in Chechnya may have been formed by peoples who are now in fact extinct in Dagestan).
Most ethnic teips are not incorporated into Tukkhum
s.
Incorporation of former Nakh peoples
Also, two Chechen tukkhums, Myälxii and Erštxoy, are thought by some to have originally been separate Nakh peoples (the Malkh
and the Arshtins
). Both tukkhums speak highly divergent dialects from "Standard Chechen". If they are of foreign origin, they were absorbed as tukkhums because they already contained teips and were much larger than a typical teip, so they had to be absorbed as tukkhums. However, how separate they were from Chechens is speculative, as the relationship was most likely rather fluid (as can be seen with Ingush and Chechens today, or Czechs and Slovaks).
Smaller Nakh peoples may have been absorbed as teips. Amjad Jaimoukha
wrote in his book The Chechens: A Handbook that he suspects the Chechen teip Sadoy is actually the remnant of the Isadiks, a Nakh people formerly bordering the Chechens who were wiped out (probably by Scythian invaders) in Ancient times. Likewise, he suspects that the Ingush teip Khamkhi is a remnant of the Khamekits, another former Nakh nation that was wiped out. These teips are not considered to be of foreign origin because their origin is Nakh.
Chechnya
The Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...
and Ingush
Ingushetia
The Republic of Ingushetia is a federal subject of Russia , located in the North Caucasus region with its capital at Magas. In terms of area, the republic is the smallest of Russia's federal subjects except for the two federal cities, Moscow and Saint Petersburg...
tribal
Tribe
A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally, consists of a social group existing before the development of, or outside of, states.Many anthropologists use the term tribal society to refer to societies organized largely on the basis of kinship, especially corporate descent groups .Some theorists...
organization or clan
Clan
A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, clan members may be organized around a founding member or apical ancestor. The kinship-based bonds may be symbolical, whereby the clan shares a "stipulated" common ancestor that is a...
, self-identified through descent from a common ancestor
Ancestor
An ancestor is a parent or the parent of an ancestor ....
and geographic location. There are about 130-233 teips (though some sources state that there may be as many as 300). More than 20 teips originated from newcomers, in particular Avars
Eurasian Avars
The Eurasian Avars or Ancient Avars were a highly organized nomadic confederacy of mixed origins. They were ruled by a khagan, who was surrounded by a tight-knit entourage of nomad warriors, an organization characteristic of Turko-Mongol groups...
, Kumyks
Kumyks
Kumyks are a Turkic people occupying the Kumyk plateau in north Dagestan and south Terek, and the lands bordering the Caspian Sea. They comprise 14% of the population of the Russian republic of Dagestan. They speak the Kumyk language...
, Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
, Georgians
Georgians
The Georgians are an ethnic group that have originated in Georgia, where they constitute a majority of the population. Large Georgian communities are also present throughout Russia, European Union, United States, and South America....
, Russians
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
, Turks
Turkish people
Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...
. The taips descending of non-Chechen ancestors are called impure teips (in other language: su’lijn taipa, соьли тайпа). A teip's internal dynamic an honor and blood feuds plays major role.
The teip membership and the tukkhum
Tukkhum
Tukkhum an alliance of teips, unrelated by blood but united in a higher association for the joint solution of common problems - the protection from enemy attack and economic exchange...
membership defined the social position of a Chechen. The lack of any affiliation of a person can be described as “This man has neither a teip nor a tukkhum”. There are 223 teips total.
Traditional teip rules and features
Common teip rules and some features:- The right of communal land tenure
- Common revenge for murder of a teip member or insulting of the members of a teip
- Unconditional exogamyExogamyExogamy is a social arrangement where marriage is allowed only outside of a social group. The social groups define the scope and extent of exogamy, and the rules and enforcement mechanisms that ensure its continuity. In social studies, exogamy is viewed as a combination of two related aspects:...
- Election of a teip representative for Tukhum Counsil of Elders.
- Election of a headman
- Election of a military head (in other languages: bjachi, bjači, бячча) in case of war
- Election of a Council of EldersCouncil of EldersCouncil of Elders may refer to:In politics:* Global Elders, a humanitarian group referred to in media as the Council of Elders.* Council of Elders of the Bundestag , a joint deliberative body...
without property qualification - Open sessions of the Council of EldersCouncil of EldersCouncil of Elders may refer to:In politics:* Global Elders, a humanitarian group referred to in media as the Council of Elders.* Council of Elders of the Bundestag , a joint deliberative body...
- Equal right of all members of the Council of EldersCouncil of EldersCouncil of Elders may refer to:In politics:* Global Elders, a humanitarian group referred to in media as the Council of Elders.* Council of Elders of the Bundestag , a joint deliberative body...
- The right of the teip to depose its representatives
- Representation of women by male relatives
- The right of the adoption of outside people
- The transfer of property of departed to members of the teips
- Every teip has a name derived from the ancestor
- The teip has a defined territory and a traditional mountain
- The teip had a teip towerVainakh medieval towersThe Nakh medieval towers were a characteristic feature of medieval architecture of the Nakh peoples in Chechenya and Ingushetia, with few parallels outside that region. Some towers were used as dwellings, others had a military purpose; some combined both functions.The roots of Nakh tower...
or another building or natural monument convenient as a shelter, e.g. a fortress, cave or rock - In the past the teip had its own Godhead
- The teip had specific festivities, customs, traditions and habits
- The teip had an own taip cemetery
- There was a common teip hospitality
List of teips
Below is a list of teips with the tukkhumTukkhum
Tukkhum an alliance of teips, unrelated by blood but united in a higher association for the joint solution of common problems - the protection from enemy attack and economic exchange...
to which it belongs, a short description, relation to the Russian Chechen conflict
History of Chechnya
The History of Chechnya refers to the history of Chechens, Chechnya, and the land of Ichkeria.Chechen society has traditionally been organized around many autonomous local clans, called taips...
and notable members:
- Akkiy tukkhum
- Myalkiy tukkhum
- Nokhchmakhkakhoy tukkhum
- Beltagoy Formerly part of the Beltoj teip.
- Benoy (Benoy, Benoi) probably the largest teip with roughly 36,000 members. Sometimes referred to as a sort of sub-tukkhum.
- Biltoy , teip in Nozhay-Yurtovsky District.
- Chartoy impure teyp **Chermoy , mostly populates Mexkety village. Also dominates in the mountains of Chermoy-lam.
- Centoroy (RussianRussian languageRussian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
: Цонтарой/Центорой ) - one of the largest eastern teips. - Elistanzhkhoy – from KhatuniKhatuniKhatuni is a village in the Vedenskij district of Chechnya....
village in Vedensky District. Moved to Aldy near GroznyGroznyGrozny is the capital city of the Chechen Republic, Russia. The city lies on the Sunzha River. According to the preliminary results of the 2010 Census, the city had a population of 271,596; up from 210,720 recorded in the 2002 Census. but still only about two-thirds of 399,688 recorded in the 1989...
. - Enganoy – dispersed throughout the Chechen RepublicChechnyaThe Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...
. It is considered that many Muslim ImamImamAn imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...
s originate from here. - Ersenoy – eastern teip in the Nokhchimokhk region in ShalinskyShalinsky District, Chechen RepublicShalinsky District is an administrative and municipal district , one of the fifteen in the Chechen Republic, Russia. Its administrative center is the town of Shali...
and Gudermessky Districts. - Gendargenoy – from historic center of Chechen RepublicChechnyaThe Chechen Republic , commonly referred to as Chechnya , also spelled Chechnia or Chechenia, sometimes referred to as Ichkeria , is a federal subject of Russia . It is located in the southeastern part of Europe in the Northern Caucasus mountains. The capital of the republic is the city of Grozny...
called Nokhchijmokhka. **Gordaloy – supporters of the separatist movement. - Gunoi Also known as White Gunoi. This north-eastern teip.
- Kharachoi **Yalkhoi . *Orstkhoi (Ershtkhoy) tukkhum
- 'Zandaqoi
- TerloyTerloyThe Terloy is a Chechen tukkhum. Nowadays the majority of the Terloy tribe reside in the western part of Chechnya – So'ljan district, Teh'a-Martan district, H'alha-Martan district, Akhmetovsky district of Georgia and in some villages of republic Ingushetia...
tukkhum- Beshni , a highland south-eastern teip. Has its own mountain – Beshni-Lam.
- Chinkhoi(Chonkhoy). Teip with pro-federal position. *Chantiy tukkhum
- Chanti
- Cheberloy (Chebarloy, Chebarloj) tukkhum
- Rigakhoy
- Buni
- Sharoy tukkhum
- Shotoy tukkhum
- Varandoy – one of the best known highland teips. Of outer roots according to Russian accounts.
- TukkhumTukkhumTukkhum an alliance of teips, unrelated by blood but united in a higher association for the joint solution of common problems - the protection from enemy attack and economic exchange...
is not known- Chinnakhoy
- Marshaloy
- Mulkoy , a small highland teip in Shatoysky DistrictShatoysky DistrictShatoysky District is an administrative and municipal district , one of the fifteen in the Chechen Republic, Russia. Its administrative center is the rural locality of Shatoy. District's population: 13,155 . Population of Shatoy accounts for 13.5% of the district's population....
. - Nashkhoy – ethnogenetic center of Nokhchimatnens in the Middle Ages.
- Peshkhoy
- Satoy – aristocratic teip from Beltoj.
- Turkoy . Turkic teip.
- Khindkhoy , a small teip located in the region of Galanchozha.
- Kalkhoy highland teip.
- Yalkhoroy – the Yalkhoroi village is named after this teip.
- Zumsoy – highland teip.
- Zurzakkhoy
Ethnic minority teips- Teip-based assimilation
Historically, if non-Chechen minorities living in Chechen lands wanted to take part in the political processes of the Chechen nation, and integrate into it, they would request admittance as an ethnic teip. They would continue, for a time, to speak their other languages, but also learned Chechen. Due to the encouragement of teip exogamy, as the generations passed, they would come to be heavily intermarried into the Chechen nation and as a result, be slowly Chechenized culturally and linguistically. The level of Chechenization varies between these foreign-origin teips, with some well-preserving their cultural traits and others not. They are nonetheless known as impure teips (not in a derogatory sense), for their foreign origin. Their loyalty to the nationNation
A nation may refer to a community of people who share a common language, culture, ethnicity, descent, and/or history. In this definition, a nation has no physical borders. However, it can also refer to people who share a common territory and government irrespective of their ethnic make-up...
is not any more in question than a Chechen-origin teip.
In total there are at least 45 teips which officially declare their non-Chechen heritage. However, it is highly likely that there are many other teips with foreign origin who simply forgot their long-past ancestry. However, any such speculation on an individual teips origins contradicting their own official beliefs is highly controversial.
A notable modern example of the formation of an ethnic teip is the Germans
Caucasus Germans
Caucasus Germans are part of the German minority in Russia and the Soviet Union. They migrated to the Caucasus largely in the first half of the 19th century and settled in the North Caucasus, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, and in the region of Kars...
who lived among the Chechens during their exile in Kazakhstan and Siberia
Population transfer in the Soviet Union
Population transfer in the Soviet Union may be classified into the following broad categories: deportations of "anti-Soviet" categories of population, often classified as "enemies of workers," deportations of entire nationalities, labor force transfer, and organized migrations in opposite...
: during even as short a period of 13 years, the Germans decided to join the teip system, and the new "German" taip was founded by M.Weisert, whose relatives still lived mainly in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. There have also been several periods where Jews
Jews
The Jews , also known as the Jewish people, are a nation and ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, nationality, and religion are strongly interrelated, as Judaism is the traditional faith of the Jewish nation...
living in Chechnya founded their own teip (teip Dzugtoi, which has contributed much in fact to the Chechen nation according to some), which is still in existence, though it has shrunk considerably due to the flight of people from Chechnya due to the brutal war. There are also teips that were formed, sometimes temporarily, by Russians
Russians
The Russian people are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Russia, speaking the Russian language and primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries....
(teips Orsi, Arsoi), Poles
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
or Ukrainians
Ukrainians
Ukrainians are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens...
.
There are a handful of peoples which actually have more than one ethnic teip in the teip system. There are 2 Russian teips (because Russians joined at two different periods), 2 Circassian teips (one for Kabardins and one for Western Adyghe
Adyghe
The Adyghe or Adygs , also often known as Circassians or Cherkess, are in origin a North Caucasian ethnic groupwho were displaced in the course of the Russian conquest of the Caucasus in the 19th century, especially after the Russian–Circassian War of 1862.Adyghe people mostly speak Adyghe and most...
), 6 Georgian teips, and 30 "Dagestani" teips, made up of the peoples of Dagestan (some of the teips in Chechnya may have been formed by peoples who are now in fact extinct in Dagestan).
Most ethnic teips are not incorporated into Tukkhum
Tukkhum
Tukkhum an alliance of teips, unrelated by blood but united in a higher association for the joint solution of common problems - the protection from enemy attack and economic exchange...
s.
Incorporation of former Nakh peoplesNakh peoplesNakh peoples are a group of historical and modern ethnic groups speaking Nakh languages and sharing certain cultural traits...
: Foreign-origin but not Impure Teips
Also, two Chechen tukkhums, Myälxii and Erštxoy, are thought by some to have originally been separate Nakh peoples (the MalkhMalkh
The Malkh were an ancient nation, living in the Western/Central North Caucasus. They are usually regarded as the Westernmost Nakh people , and there name has a Nakh root . Their name may have actually been something closer to "Melkhi", but the common rendering is "Malkh"...
and the Arshtins
Arshtins
The Arshtins were a group of Vainakh living in between the Ingush and Chechens, along the Sunzha's middle reaches and their tributaries. They were mostly known as Karabulaks, which they are called in Russian, from their Kumyk name. They also called themselves "Baloi"...
). Both tukkhums speak highly divergent dialects from "Standard Chechen". If they are of foreign origin, they were absorbed as tukkhums because they already contained teips and were much larger than a typical teip, so they had to be absorbed as tukkhums. However, how separate they were from Chechens is speculative, as the relationship was most likely rather fluid (as can be seen with Ingush and Chechens today, or Czechs and Slovaks).
Smaller Nakh peoples may have been absorbed as teips. Amjad Jaimoukha
Amjad Jaimoukha
Amjad Jaimoukha has written a number of books on North Caucasian – specifically Circassian and Chechen – culture and folklore. According to The Circassian Encyclopaedia Amjad Jaimoukha (name in Circassian: Жэмыхъуэ Амджэд; the Circassian personal name "Амыщ" is also sometimes quoted; in...
wrote in his book The Chechens: A Handbook that he suspects the Chechen teip Sadoy is actually the remnant of the Isadiks, a Nakh people formerly bordering the Chechens who were wiped out (probably by Scythian invaders) in Ancient times. Likewise, he suspects that the Ingush teip Khamkhi is a remnant of the Khamekits, another former Nakh nation that was wiped out. These teips are not considered to be of foreign origin because their origin is Nakh.
External links
- Teips on chechen.org (In Russian )
- Russia and Eurasia Review (pdf)
- Traditional social organisation of the Chechens (pdf)
- http://www.waynakh.com/eng/chechens/tribal-unions-and-clans- A complete list of all Chechen Teips.